Semua Bab The Don's Property: Bab 121 - Bab 130

ELARA POV A sledgehammer of pain strikes the inside of my skull as I force my eyelids apart, squinting against the gray shadow and harsh, flickering light. The air tastes like rust with the sharp, chemical bite of gasoline.My eyes dart around in frantic, flickering through wrecked cars that tell me I’m likely in a garage.I try to lunge forward, but my body jerks back. The chair I’m on screeches, and the rough hemp bites into my wrists and ankles. Panic truly flares when I feel the thick strap dig tight across my stomach.My heart stops. I instinctively strain against the ropes, trying to create space between the leather and my lower belly. Please. Not this tight. Don’t hurt the baby.I blink rapidly, trying to clear the fog from my eyes until a silhouette leaning against the wall a short distance from me sharpens into focus. And that person is—“Gianna?” The name scrapes out of my dry throat, sounding like a question. My brain stutters, memory of how she hit something hard on my hea

ELARA POVThe first thing to return is pain.A dull, throbbing ache that seems to pulse in time with my own heartbeat, radiating from my ribs and settling deep in my skull. I force my eyes open, but the light in the room stings, making me wince. I blink rapidly, waiting for the blur to resolve into shapes. I’m not on the cold concrete floor anymore. I’m not tied to a chair. I’m on something soft.White wall assaults my eyes as I try to move, but I’m stopped by a deep, familiar voice that wraps around me like a warm blanket, triggering a memory I can’t quite grasp."Stay still, uccellina."Large, warm arms blanket around me and the contact sends a jolt through me that clears my vision enough to see him.Nero looks terrible. His dress shirt is unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up to reveal inked forearms tense with strain. There’s a shadow of stubble on his jaw that wasn't there before, and his dark eyes that are usually so cold and calculated are rimmed with red, and filled with

NERO POVI have been torturing Carlo Graco for days now. I start in the morning. When I see that his life is teetering and he is finally about to give up, I stop. I patch him up just enough to survive the night, and then the cycle continues.I have already castrated him. His fingers have been reduced to useless stumps, and he is rocking back and forth, covered in jagged stitches and slashes.Yet, I still don’t feel satisfied. It’s like an insatiable gaping hole is inside me, screaming for more. When I decide that I want to end his miserable life, one look at him makes everything come rushing back. The two times I have lost something precious was solely because of him. All because of him. I’m this monster because of him. Dipping my hands into this life of crime was so easy because I knew that was the only way to get powerful enough to carry out my revenge against him.But right now, even doing this doesn’t bring me profound satisfaction. Still, I keep coming back to it like opium.“Rea

ELARA POVThe zipper teeth grit together, stuck stubbornly halfway up my ribcage.I tug again, harder this time, but the fabric refuses to move. It’s the third dress I’ve tried on in forty minutes, and the result is the same humiliating defeat. I stand there for a moment, chest heaving, fighting the sting of tears that feels perpetually caught in my throat these days.Some days, I simply don’t feel like myself, but like a vessel as my body is expanding and morphing faster than my mind can catch up to it. Today is one of those days.With a defeated sigh, I peel the dress off and kick it into the pile of rejected silk and cotton on the floor. Now, I’m left with the "safe" and “unflattering” option.My eyes move to the yellow sundress. It’s shapeless and billowing, shaped like a tent, but it’s the only thing that doesn’t threaten to cut off my circulation. I throw it over my head and smooth the fabric over the swollen curve of my stomach.I turn toward the vanity, intending to check my ha

ELARA POV“What about this one?” My mother shoves her phone into my face, the screen brightness stinging my eyes.I tilt my head back, already over this. Nero dropped me off here two hours ago, and for two hours straight, we have done nothing but scroll through high-end baby boutiques. Her cart must be worth thousands by now. “Isn’t this a little too…” I let my voice trail off. The pink sparkly dress on the screen looks like something for a toddler, not a newborn.“It’s so beautiful. We should probably buy it.” She taps Add to Cart before I can even finish my sentence. I swallow a sigh. I don’t understand why she insisted I come here if she has no intention of actually listening to me.“Of course,” I whisper, sinking slowly against the plush backing of the couch. Crap. I can already feel a tension headache throbbing at the base of my skull and keeping time with my pulse.I watch her as she continues to scroll, her face animated with a manic sort of joy. It still feels uncanny looking